MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio — Middleburg Heights mom Melissa Collins and her husband, Brandon, have a beautiful 7-month-old baby named Harper.

For the forseeable future, they’ll only get to see their baby through a window.

Collins is a nurse with an increased risk of exposure to the coronavirus, so she’s been forced to place Harper under the care of her grandparents until the pandemic is under control.

“This is by far the hardest decision we have ever had to make, but we know it is the absolute right one,” she said.

Collins, who works in surgery recovery at a local hospital, has been trained to work with COVID-19 positive patients and said her hospital is prepared. Her mother is immunocompromised and watches Harper while Collins is at work.

Collins didn’t want to risk Harper or her mother becoming sick during the drop-off/pick-up each day.

She said she and her husband have been FaceTiming Harper two to three times a day for the past four days. Wednesday, they visited her through the window.

She wrote on Facebook: “I am thankful she will not remember any of this and that she has no idea what is going on in the scary world around her. But Brandon and I will remember. We will remember playing with her through glass. We will remember the way her face lit up when she saw her daddy waving at her. We will remember watching her mouth “Mama” through the glass but not being able to completely hear her little voice. We will remember watching Harper reach out to pet her doggie, only to be stopped by the glass between them. We will remember the heartache we felt as we left to go home without her.”

She also made a plea — for the public to “please stay home.”

“Social distance, wash your hands, and be kind to one another. We will get through this together,” she said. “Thank you to everyone on the front line and at home for doing what you can to rid the world of this poison.”